Major Superhero Groups

Superhero groups tend to be a lot more stable then villain groups; many villains are more then a bit nuts. Still, even hero teams rarely have more then 5-7 members at a time. The only real exceptions are those few groups with separate branch teams.

For those interested, Player-Character groups include the Guardians, the Heroic Extra-Terrestrial Law Protectors, The Mandate, Nemesis, the Sentinels, Shadowgard, and Stormwatch – although old player-characters have joined a variety of other groups as well.

North America

Bayou Brigade, Louisiana; An erratic group of heroes who mainly operate in the swamps and wilds. They tend towards search and/or rescue operations. Known members include The Crocodilian, Clay, Longstrider, Stranglevine, and Aslan.

Cyberknights, Silicon Valley, USA; Originally a loose association of gadgeteers and hackers, the cybernights were nearly wiped out by Shadowspear and the survivors were gravely injured. Supported by several major companies and research firms, the surviving Cyberknights rebuilt themselves (some quite literally) and began a crusade against Shadowspear and any other enemies of humanity. Unfortunately, they’ve also gotten quite paranoid about the use of major magic. Their current lineup is still in flux however.

Ghost Dance, Midwest USA and Canada; A nominally native american group with a strong mystical bent, and no real organization. The major members include; Thunderbird, Coyote, Long Walker, Raven, Shaman, Snake, White Buffalo Woman, and Windwalker.

Guardians, San Francisco; A very new group, and one with a predominance of underage members and no particular organization. Known members include; Warlock, The Voice, Twlight, Mara, Ebonfire, The Changeling, Lonewolf, and Timewalker.

The Heroic Extra-Terrestrial Law Protectors, A.K.A. H.E.L.P.; A chaotic group of temporal, dimensional, and interstellar exiles, who more or less adopted the Earth and refused to let any other aliens invade the place. While the group is generally inactive, their propensity for time travel still leads to occasional appearances. Major members included Amorph, Temporis, Omega, Shaman, Nimrod, Maelstorm, Blake, Electranoid, Express, and the Dimensional Cowboy.

The Mandate, New York State, USA; A group primarily concerned with mystical menaces, the Mandate spends most of its time opposing dimensional invaders, demons, and black magicians. Founded by The Brick and Adrian Maximilian, current members include Ranko Anchienkienda, the White Necromancer II, Castellon, and The Hauntsman. Reserve members include The Chauffeur and Shadow Wolf .

Nemesis, East Coast, USA; Brought together by the Arrhenius Invasion of 1963 Nemesis is one of the oldest teams around, and has accumulated quite a few favors, reserve/retired members, resources and old enemies. Driven underground during the McCarthy years, Nemisis had made sure since then to keep at least half it’s bases secret. Nemesis now has a at least three teams available. Known members include; Black Avenger, Tank, Nightfyre, and Spiral (Team I), Warhawk, Claymore, Luminii, and Ronin (Team II), Retaliator, Megalith, Fury, and Jadefire (Team III). They’re currently deeply involved in a “war” with the Black Lotus Triad.

Protectors, Los Angeles, USA; One of the more well established groups, Protectors Inc also offers a variety of security services, but primarily acts to assist west-coast based hero groups. Current membership includes; Doc Sonic, Brainstorm, Ace, Dr Wraithe, Maelstrom, Helios, Quasar, Huntsman, Renegade, and Silverfist.

Rangers, Denver, USA; An unusually “subtle” group, at least for superheroes, who augment relatively minor powers with gadgetry and martial arts. Known members include Silver Knight, Firefist, Gunsen, Grey Wolf, the Ferret, Mindsword, and Shifter.

Round Table, Atlanta, USA; A cross between a “hero group” and a purely social club for superhumans, the “Round Table” has numerous members, but only the Knights spend much time being superheroic. Known members include Bloodstorm, Katana, Golden Lion, Plasmus, and Panthera.

Sentinels, New York; USA; While the Explorers Club closed it’s doors in 1968, with a final toast to those members who died fighting the Arrhenius, a number of teams choose to continue their legacy. Since then, the Sentinels have had their ups and downs, but – at least since The Paladin joined – seem prepared to go on indefinitely. While there are plenty of retirees, current members include; The Paladin, Ironstar, Ragpicker, and Totem.

Shadowgard, Southeast USA; A secretive group, with no known base and an unknown agenda. They’ve intervened at several crisis points, but seem to be mostly concerned with preventing something. Known members include; Temporis, Ampere, Captain Steel, Conjunction, and Oracle.

Stormwatch, Central USA and Worldwide; While primarily concerned with search-and-rescue and disaster relief, rather than with combat missions, Stormwatch will occasionally take the field against groups or individuals which are causing widespread destruction. Known members include Tempest, Quark, Cyberdrake, Tai Yun, and Dr. Z.

Vanguard, Canada; A relatively low-powered group, but one that enjoys substantial governmental support and backing. Vanguard usually makes an attempt to “get in on” any superhuman-related activities taking place in Canada, but they usually wind up playing second-string to whatever American group chased something up there. Known members include Scale, Destine, Nimbus, Tinker, Boreas, Piper, and Dreamweaver.

Wildstrike, Chicago; This fledgling superhero team has had three (disastrous) incarnations so far. Unfortunately, it tends to attract heroes with semi-uncontrollable abilities. Following the first fiasco with Berzerker and Captain Explode, Wildfire reorganized, retaining Moonforged and the Howler, and adding Warp, Pan and Heisenberg as new recruits. The Howler vanished shortly therafter, Pan left to become a semi-villain, Moonforged was lost through a wild gate created when Heisenberg and Warp accidently interfered with each other – and the Mushin affair was the final straw. Wildfire is currently trying again with Warp, Witchfire and Yeoman – although their first outing against the supervillian “group” Catastrophe landed three of them in the hospital, with Warp’s location still unknown.

Sadly, while several villainous teams operate in Mexico, there are no known local hero groups.

The Caribbean

The Loa, Caribbean Area; Known more by rumors then fact, the Loa generally rescue people – but are also reported to whisk occasional youngsters away to some mysterious destination. The members include Ogun, Agwe, Legba, and Ashadeh.

The Red Guard, Cuba; An official governmental attempt to counter the US superhero teams. Most of the “Guards” appear to have no major talents, although the group has been bolstered by several diehard members of the disbanded Premier Soviets since the dissilution of the USSR. Despite the presence of Kuryakin, Tokamak, and the Red Shield, the team is widely considered a joke.

Australia and Indonesia

Adil Pelayan (The “Righteous Servants”) are – as might be expected of a team from Indonesia, a country spread over 6000 inhabited and 11,000 or more uninhabited islands – not very organized at all. They’re united only by a common belief that various tribal spirits have granted them special powers to protect their people with. Given the popularity of uninhabited isles among groups who want secret bases, their missions often resemble a fantasy-gamers Dungeon Crawl – find mysterious installation, head in, fight through a series of mysterious rooms and hallways full of weird items, random enemies, and traps, and rescue victims or stop the evil plot. Known members include Lahir, Gunungapi, the “Tiga Kayu Kera” (The “Three Wood Apes”), Batalkan, and Palu.

Common foes of the Adil Pelayan include Dasi and Kukuman, Kilitar, Asing, and Demam. They’ve sometimes had trouble with Bajing – but consider her more comic relief then villian.

The Outriders are Australia’s only “Superhero Team”, although they actually spend more time in astral space or extradimensional excursions then they do on earth. While they have intervened in “conventional” conflicts on a few occasions, for the most part, these are left to Colonel Ashford and his Psychic Sidekicks. Known members include Kanmari (“Rainbow Serpent”), Dreamtime, Tracker, Starweaver, and Phantasm.

Africa and The Middle East

Guardians Of Ma’at, North Africa and The Middle East; This eccentric team mostly acts as heroes, but seems to believe that they have some sort of “sacred mission” involving various archeological sites. Despite the number of members with “Egyptian God” themes, few of them are believed to actually be the gods in question. Known members include Anubis, Sandwraith, Firewind, Cheops, Isis, Bast, and Sebek.

The Nephelim, Israel; Israel’s “super-defense force” is surprisingly large, and enjoys extensive military and governmental backing. Unlike most superhero groups, it tends to operate in extreme secrecy. Known members include Seraphim, Golem, Lux, Saneygor, and Cabbala.

Hand Of Allah, Middle East; A quasi-religious order, primarily of superhumans possessing great physical talents. Major members include Qangul, Beyar, Agir, Gumgume, Axund, Zer, Tali, and Qelet. They occasionally work with Berderek and Ejder – but are not officially allied with them.

The European Union

Cavaliers, France; A fairly “typical” team of superheroic do-gooders notable for their lengthy team history; the group traces it’s “roots” back several centuries. Known members include Defensor, Dar’tanyan, Flamburge, and Curie.

Knights Of Avalon, England; A loose society of heroes rather than a formal team, the full members of the Knights have indeed been knighted for services to the crown. The group includes several unpowered, but heroic (or simply fortunate) members. Known superhuman members include Artorius, Longrinus, Aerolithe, Ghurka, The Clansman, Yeoman, Partisan, and Mycroft the Magician.

Iron Wind, European Union; Made up of some of the graduates of Project; Promethius, this group mostly consists of parahumans with fairly minor, specialized, or otherwise highly-limited, powers – but uses “light” battle armor tailored to each member to make up the difference. While the membership roster is fairly lengthy, none of them are particularly widely known – an intentional policy, since most of the members are extremely vulnerable to major superhumans if caught without their armor and equipment.

The Night Watch, France and England; A group of superpowered youths and teenagers, the Night Watch occasionally deals with more subtle or smaller-scale problems, but is mostly a mutual support group. Known members include Voltaire, Shillelagh, Flux, Le Fey, and Whisper.

Northern Star, Northern Europe; An organized strike team, notable for its willingness to meet the more over-the-top menaces with equal and opposite violence. Known members include Tyr, Aurora, the Retaliator, Roentgen, and Festung (Fortress).

The Wild Hunt, Germany and Central Europe; Whether or not the Wild Hunt actually is the Hunt of legend, it certainly seems to follow the motif – appearing to hunt down major magical evils. The Hunt has fought several demons and similar malevolences, but has occasionally attacked heroes as well – not that this is especially uncommon amongst superhero groups.

Aegis, Spain and Italy; A well-established, if relatively loosely-organized group focused on maintaining the peace around the Mediterranean. They have, unfortunately, had some major disagreements with the Guardians of Ma’at and the Hands of Allah. Known members include Ghiacciaio (Glacier), Martellato (Hammer-Blow), Precursore (Harbringer), Fiocina (Harpoon), and Fabbricatore (The Divisor).

Eastern Europe and Asia

Bogatyrs, Kiev; A little-known group, the Bogatyrs are rumored to either be immortal spirits or to actually be magical weapons and equipment wielded by any ordinary individual who is willing to act as a hero. While relatively low-powered for the most part, the team does seem to be extraordinarily durable: there are reports of them operating against the Nazi invasion in WWII.

New Guard, Moscow; This team includes most of the more reasonable members of the old Comintern and Premier Soviet teams. While no longer directly controlled by the government, the team continues to have strong ties with it – albeit now as supporters, rather then as draftees. Known members include;

Zhanjen Rangers, Tokoyo, Japan; This youthful team of cybernetically-augmented martial artists was created by the Zhanjen corporation – to make themselves look good. The Rangers are relatively inexperienced, but they mean well and have a lot of equipment. Current members include; Zen Lion, Zen Rhino, Zen Dolphin, Zen Eagle, and Zen Mouse.

The Shih sorcerer-warriors are known by rumor and legend; they are said to be an ancient order dedicated to the destruction and/or containment of various elder horrors.

Dragon Warriors, China; China’s official hero team is very large, but most of it’s members are merely highly skilled martial artists and/or minor mystics. Only a few of them possess major powers of any kind. Of course, a skilled martial artist with occult training and decent equipment is not insignificant – but they’re no match for a major superhuman. Major members include Xiyu (“Mists of Jade”), Jishas, Shugoshin, Lung Hong, Ki’Rin, Lei Xiang, Yiwanchui, and Jiqi Xiansheng.

-It’s notable that the Dragon Warriors almost disintegrated in 1991 – with many members taking an anti-government stance at Tiananmen square. Most of those defected to Taiwan or Hong Kong in the aftermath, paving the way for the British to hand Hong Kong back over to the Taiwanese rather then to China in 1997.

Shodian (Lightning), Hong Kong/Taiwan; A very powerful, and eclectic, group, including a variety of exiled heros from China, in addition to those of Taiwan and Hong Kong. The known members include Sietch, Jingzi, Zhen, Hongoshi, Shitou (Stone), Daxluke (Cosmic Traveller), Meishu (Art), Shu Congming (Book Of Wisdom), Zhangdan (The Calculator), Luboshishao (Emeraldfire), Dianjishi (The Engineer), and Jhewu (Geometric Fog).

Wheel Of Light, India; A recently-formed group with no established – or at least no publicly-known – roster as of yet. The only statement issued so far is that they “have come to oppose the Kali Yuga”.

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